


A Brief History of the Modern Broomstick

by Elsepth



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Broom History, Brooms, Canon Continuation, Fanon, Gen, Headcanon, History of Brooms, Quidditch, why did I do this I don't even like quidditch
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-09-22 11:17:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9605513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elsepth/pseuds/Elsepth
Summary: A treatise on future broomsticks.What are all the other broomstick models, anyway?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Legerdemain Conspiracy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9540149) by [Deejaymil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deejaymil/pseuds/Deejaymil). 



> So Dee says, "I need a broomstick model name for _future broomsticks_ "

Today, in Britain there are three major broom manufacturers - Cleansweep, Comet, and Nimbus - and dozens of small workshop companies. A few of them are specialist companies, such as Randolph, or their competitor Thunderbolt; many are boutique workshops who make custom brooms to order.

Since 1967, when the Nimbus 1000 took the market by storm, Nimbus has carved out a niche for itself selling high quality brooms at a high price point. They cater exclusively to a high-end professional market, in which their primary competitors are international. The archetypal Nimbus broom is a good balance of speed, agility, and reliability, and is generally considered an excellent if somewhat expensive choice for someone new to the professional circuit.

Cleansweep and Comet are the older British manufacturers, and are considerably more mass-market, selling to the ordinary witch or wizard. The typical Cleansweep broom is slower but more agile than his Comet counterpart. Cleansweep brooms are also generally considered more reliable, but some Comet models have proven to be unusually receptive to aftermarket modifications, and are thus popular in broom-modding circles - and, on rare occasion, the professional circuit.

The introduction of the Randolph Firebolt broom in 1993 spurred Nimbus to develop a competing broom, which was released four years later in 1997: The Cirrus. Sacrificing reliability and agility for speed, the Cirrus was easily the second-fastest British-made broom in stock configuration - but was outpaced also by overcharged Comet 290 series brooms.

It was not until 1999 that the new broom found its niche. The original Cirrus specification had called for a broom superior to the Firebolt in all aspects; but due to design compromises the only aspect in which it was superior was its climb speed and high flight ceiling. The Cirrus V emphasised these strengths, resulting in an excellent-high altitude broom that quickly became popular in the long-distance broom racing circuit. The VI, an incremental improvement, was released the following year, and the 'final' Cirrus VII in late 2002, a streamlined, optimised high-altitude racing broom with excellent reliability, comfort, and safety. It remains popular to this day.

The Cirrus VIII and IX in the mid 2000s were unsuccessful attempts at improving low-altitude performance, in line with the original Cirrus goal of "Firebolt, but better." The Cirrus X released in 2007 instead incorporated a novel innovation - variable-geometry construction. The result was a heavy broom with excellent top speed at high altitude and excellent manoeuvrability at low altitude - and both excellent energy retention and climb rate. While critically acclaimed, adoption of the Cirrus in professional quidditch has been slow, as few quidditch players favour the highly vertical play style the Cirrus X is especially suited for.

At the turn of the millennium, all three major broom manufacturers launched new models: the Cleansweep Twelve, Comet 300, and Nimbus 3000. The first two had been designed explicitly to match or surpass the Nimbus 2000 series without leaving the budget price point. Whether they were successful or not is debatable; the Cleansweep 12 is slightly inferior to the Nimbus 2000 in all areas except speed, with which it is equal, but even now a used Nimbus 2000 costs more than the Cleansweep 12's release price. The Comet 300, on the other hand, became an attempt to squeeze as much speed out of a budget broom as possible, and it shows. It was briefly considered as a potential competitor to the Cirrus series, but was quickly eclipsed by the Cirrus VII. For all its faults, the core design was sound - the Comet 320 series two years later proved to be a uniquely robust platform and is well regarded by hobbyists and - under the name of Meteor Mk. 15 - custom broommakers alike.

* * *

 

In the late 50s, Hogwarts purchased a full set of Universal Brooms' Shooting Star brooms - inexpensive and good value, at the time. They proceeded to be used over the next four decades, until the late 90s. By 2000, all of the old Shooting Stars had been retired, replaced by some thirty Nimbus 2001 brooms for competition use. For general use, Hogwarts now maintains over a hundred other brooms, most of which are various models of Cleansweeps and Comets, .


End file.
